GRAIN Photography Local LGBT+ History Project
If you have attended any of our in person or zoom meetings you will already know me… my name is Stephen, I am a longstanding member of the North Midlands LGBT+ Older Peoples Group in North Staffs.
I am contacting our members to tell you about an exciting new photography based project I am looking to manage along with GRAIN Photography, starting next year 2025.
The project will take place if funding can be secured and we are currently working together to make a number of applications.
This project is aimed at the LGBT+ community and our allies to coincide with the 100 year anniversary of Stoke on Trent becoming a city.
We will run workshops and group meetings to look back on your past with the help of archive photos, and your connections with the city of Stoke on Trent, and take modern day portraits in an area of the city which means a lot to you. These will eventually be used in a local exhibition of the completed project and also in a publication.
I have already participated in two of GRAIN’s photography projects which I enjoyed very much.
If you are interested in taking part please:
- Forward your email address so we can contact you directly with more information on the project and so you can input your ideas . Your details will be kept secure and only be used for this project and not passed on to any third party.
- If you have time please forward a few words in your email, explaining why you would like to take part in this project and what it would mean to you. (This will help us make a strong case for funding).
Here are a couple of examples of what previous participants in GRAIN’s photography projects wrote to give you an idea of the project and what you might say:
Hi Nicola.
This is such an important aspect of life for everyone in the LGBT+ community. We all change over the course of our lives, and I’m no different. I think my younger self could tell me a thing or two about wanting to live freely and in tune with their emotions. All the structures of the times would surely have impacted one’s ability to navigate a course through relationships and the big wide world. To be true to yourself in a way that allowed you to build your life was not an easy option in the late 1960s and early 70s.
It could be a case of ‘if only you knew then what I know now’.
Subject: Starting Conversations With Photographs
Dear Nicola,
I’d be very happy to support this project. When we had the discussion in the group about how photographs can bring back all sorts of memories, it made me think that we do need to hear people’s stories. So many lives have been hidden, and a project like this could really help to bring people’s experiences into the light and remind the rest of the world that we do exist, and our memories are important, particularly when so many stories previously have been left untold as a result of a repressive climate regarding LGBT matters.
Best wishes and good luck.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Stephen Malkin (He / Him)
If you would like to register your interest in this project please send your email to:
[email protected]
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